Jim Armitage: Green shoots are withering at the City’s Fraudbuster

The UK government's Serious Fraud Office has seen an eventful year thus far, topped by director David Green departing last month. Mark Thompson, the SFO’s COO during Green's tenure, was selected to replace Green as the interim director, and rumors about who will permanently replace Green have been circulating.

A comment piece in the Evening Standard claims that Green's rumored replacement is a woman who supported UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to disband the SFO entirely. The City Editor commented: “As Jonathan Pickworth, London-based partner at White & Case, puts it: 'This brings uncertainty to an organization finally proving itself effective. And when you get that sort of uncertainty, it will inevitably harm recruitment and retention of the best people.’"

Pickworth has previously addressed the SFO and its director succession plan to other media outlets, including quotes in twostories in The Times and an op-ed for The Times The Brief. In his op-ed, Pickworth wrote about considerations and concerns for the next permanent SFO director. "The next permanent director will want to build on [an] increasingly stable platform, with bribery and corruption, fraud, money laundering and overseas tax evasion the likely first targets," Pickworth said.